In brief
- A low footing setting out bid often leaves out survey control, compaction testing or concrete cover, then returns as a variation once excavation is open.
- Check the priced items against the footing drawing and the engineer's specification before signing, not after the first pour.
- Ask for the setting out method statement and the survey instrument to be listed, and confirm hold points in writing.
Contents
A low footing setting out bid in Garowe is usually a bid that priced the labour and skipped the control. Setting out underbidding risks start when the tender omits survey control, compaction checks, cover and the hold points that prove the footings sit where the drawing says. The price looks competitive because the work behind it was never counted.
What does a priced footing setting out bid actually cover?
A complete setting out price covers the survey instrument, the benchmark, the pegs and profiles, the excavation check, the blinding level and the reinforcement position.
Most low bids price only the pegs. The survey instrument, the person who can read it, the check against a fixed benchmark and the record of that check are left out. So is the level check on the excavated formation, the confirm that the footing sits at the founding depth the engineer specified, and the cover check before concrete goes in. Add the setting out of column starter bars and the bid can be far below the work.
Ask for the priced items as a list against the footing drawing. Ask the engineer's office which benchmark or control point the site should tie to, and whether it holds a record of it. Ask two contractors to state, in writing, what their rate includes and what it excludes.
Where does the money go missing?
Omitted costs cluster in three places: survey control, compaction and testing, and the cover and level checks that protect the reinforcement.
Survey control is the first. A benchmark has to be established or found, protected and re-checked. If the site has no fixed point, someone has to bring one in. Low bids assume the ground will tell them where the footings go.
Compaction and testing come next. A formation that has been excavated to level still has to be proved fit to build on. Laboratory work, plate checks or an engineer's inspection all take time and money. A bid that leaves them out shifts the risk to the client.
Cover and level are the third. If the excavation is too deep, extra concrete fills it. If it is too shallow, the footing has to be re-cut. Both are variation claims waiting to happen, and both are cheaper to price at tender than to argue about on site.
Ask the laboratory for its rate for the tests the engineer names. Ask the contractor to state the founding depth and cover in the bid, in millimetres, from the drawing.
How do misaligned load paths show up later?
Misaligned load paths show up as cracks, eccentric column loads and rework once the superstructure starts.
Setting out decides where the load lands. If the footing is offset from the column line, the column sits off centre and the base bends or the reinforcement sits in the wrong place. If the level is wrong, the ground beam has to follow. If the cover is short, the steel can corrode, so confirm the cover against the project's specification before concrete goes in.
The defect rarely appears on the day. It appears when the walls go up and the alignment cannot close, or when the engineer inspects and asks for the footing to be re-cut. Rework at that stage costs more than the setting out ever did, and the programme slips.
Ask the contractor for the setting out records from its own completed footings, and ask the engineer to check how the levels were recorded against the benchmark. Where the records do not exist, treat the low bid as a warning, not a bargain.
What to do next
Before you sign, send the footing drawing and the engineer's specification to each bidder and ask for a priced list of every setting out item: survey control, benchmark, pegs and profiles, formation level check, cover check and as-built record. Compare the lists. Where an item is missing from the lowest bid, ask the bidder to price it in writing, then compare again.
Frequently asked questions
Should I reject the lowest footing setting out bid in Garowe?
Not automatically. Ask the bidder to price the missing items in writing, then compare the revised totals. A bid that stays low after survey control, compaction checks and cover checks are added is worth reviewing with the engineer.
Who confirms the founding depth for a footing in Garowe?
The engineer named in the contract confirms it, usually after inspecting the excavated formation. Ask that office what inspection and test records it expects before concrete is placed.
What records should the contractor hand over after setting out?
Ask for the benchmark reference, the level book, the setting out check against the drawing, and the inspection sign-off for formation level and cover.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Garowe and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.